


Cait Sidhe: Legendary Defender

by ElfGrove



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Irish Folktales, Cait Sith - Freeform, Fairy Tale Elements, Gen, Halloween, Samhain, Sidhe, Voltronween 2016, cait sidhe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 09:33:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8396578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElfGrove/pseuds/ElfGrove
Summary: An AU playing with the idea of what if the Lions of Voltron were the Cait Sidhe (Faery Cats) of Ireland. How the Paladins meet thier "Lions" and and become the Legendary Defenders or Ireland.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm playing a very fast and loose with a very-vaguely-historical-Ireland setting and MORE IMPORTANTLY with Irish Folktales of the Sidhe/Fae Folk. Just enjoy this as a fun Halloween and Samhain themed Voltron AU.

_Lance still remembered the first day he met the boy with violet eyes._

It had been Samhain night, and he'd been forbidden to go outside, lest he meet one of The Good Neighbors and be spirited away. He didn't think one of _Them_ would have the guts to bother with him. His Mother would have said they wouldn't have the patience to spirit his restless and noisy bones anywhere but back to his own doorstep. Still, he wasn't completely reckless, he carried a turnip carved with the scariest face he could manage and lit from within from a candle he'd taken from the church chapel. That alone would drive off any evil spirits, but he also carried an iron horseshoe in his back pocket just in case of of the Fae Folk came too close to him anyways.

_He was prepared. With these things, and a bag full of sweets, he snuck out on Samhain to meet his best friend for childish mischief._

Hunk had met him at the promised spot, with his own turnip lantern and sprig of Hawthorn tucked behind one ear. They played silly childhood games and shared treats. Eventually, another boy their had wandered upon the secret rendezvous. He had dark hair and violet eyes, and Hunk had immediately worried that he was on of the Fair Folk, there to spirit them away to the undying lands, just as they'd always been warned.

_It had definitely been Hunk worried, not him._

The boy hadn't been frightened by their lanterns, instead he'd knelt down to examine them curiously. A large red cat curling around them, purring and rubbing against the uncarved sides. They couldn't be Fae if the lanterns didn't bother them.

The new boy had spoken matter-of-factly when he finally looked up at them, "It's not very good, is it?"

Lance felt his face get hot when the boy pointed to the lantern he'd carved.

Hunk laughed, set at ease by the fluffy cat and the lack of reaction to the lanterns, "Yeah. They're kind of uneven."

Lance puffed out his chest, ready for a fight, "I don't see you carrying one."

"I've got Red."

"Red?"

He followed the boy's pointing to the large red cat now carefully sniffing the remaining sweets while Hunk tried to distract it with a long piece of grass.

"A cat's not gonna protect you from _THEM_."

"Red can."

"Cannot!"

The boy blinked at him, rather than continue in the age old tradition of children arguing. It left Lance at a bit of a loss.

"Red's a weird name anyways," He pouted.

"Red doesn't like names much."

The boy was so strange, but he hadn't flinched at the lanterns, nor had he shied from the iron and Hawthorn they carried, so they'd let him sit with them as they told jokes and played games. Before the night was done, Keith had been considered a friend.

Lance had decided the strange way Red's fur seemed to sparkle sometimes in the moonlight and the bright yellow eyes that glowed an unnatural blue outside the ring of lantern light was just a by-product of tired boys up to mischief on Samhain night.

He and Hunk had seen Keith again and again in the days that followed, an odd and often quiet boy that played with them around the village, fields, and forest.

A year later, they'd planned to meet him again for games and sweet treats on Samhain night, but first Lance had been put in charge of setting out the saucer of milk for the Cait Sidhe so that the Faery Cats would bless the house instead of cursing thier fields or livestock. He'd run all the way to thier meeting spot, nearly putting his lantern out multiple times in his haste.

_Keith hadn't been there._

Hunk and he had waited, Hunk with a large yellow cat with eyes like Red's that had shown up and immediately attached itself to his side. They'd stayed the entire night, but Keith had never come. They'd parted as the sun began to peek over the hills, deciding to go searching for thier friend as soon as the morning's chores were done.

He'd mentioned not seeing Keith last night at the festivals to his Mother, although without explaining his taboo all-nighter. He was surprised when his Mother pointed out she'd never met Keith, even though he and Hunk discussed the boy regularly. No one in his family had. No one knew Keith's family or where the boy lived. At best, they'd seen Hunk and Lance playing around with the dark-haired boy from a distance.

Meeting up with Hunk later in the day revealed the same story from his end. How had they been friends for so long without ever inviting Keith to their homes, or meeting his family? They had no idea where he lived or where he had come from.

_A year and a day of friendship, and suddenly Keith was gone, his existence as mysterious as any Fair Folk._

While Keith had never reacted to the presence of iron or Hawthorn, Hunk pointed out that Red had never touched the stuff; had avoided touching them when they carried iron especially. Keith had been around iron just fine though, so he couldn't be Fae, and cats were strange creatures even under normal circumstances. Keith was just quiet and shy, and his family kept to themselves, wherever they were.

Lance trudged home late that day, to find a large cat sitting curled around the now-empty saucer he'd put out the night before.

"Hey you," He squatted down to look the strange cat in the eyes. It was too big, and the fur seemed to be a gray that was almost a shade of blue, but that wasn't possible.

The cat blinked slowly at him, but didn't move away from the doorstep. It had the same golden eyes Red and Hunk's new feline friend had, so that must have been normal. He didn't really hang out with a lot of cats.

"I don't guess you know where Red and Keith went, do you?"

The cat started purring, loudly.

"We can't have another cat around here. Mom barely puts up with the one out in the barn."

The cat seemed undeterred, it's eyes half-closed to contented slits.

"You're not one of the Cait Sidhe, right?"

_Nothing._

"You'd have to tell me if you were one. That's the rules." He ran a hand through his hair, he didn't really know if that was true, "Isn't it?"

The cat just kept purring at him.

"Well, I gotta take that saucer in. You do what you want." 

He reached for the dish, and the cat stood, rubbing it's head against his hand and purring louder. 

"You're welcome, I guess." He turned his hand to scratch under the cat's chin and ears. It made him feel strangely better about his missing friend. "If you see Keith, you tell him he better bring sweets next Samhain, huh?"

Lance stood, going inside and leaving the friendly grey, it was definitely grey and certainly not blue, cat outside.

In the days that followed, the two strange cats that had shown up on Samhain made irregular appearances, following Lance and Hunk around. Watching them work or cuddling close by when they rested. It was comforting in an odd way..

_Keith remained missing, a forgotten stranger to everyone in the large village but Lance and Hunk._


End file.
